UT, Aggies set to start tournament

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Tubby Smith spent most of the past decade at a place where NCAA tournament bids were an every-year requirement and the expectation was to contend for a national championship.

The goals are a little more modest this time around.

Smith is back in the tournament for the first time since leaving Kentucky, guiding Minnesota to its first NCAA appearance in four years. And Smith - in his second season with the Golden Gophers - is savoring the moment as his team prepares to face Texas in the first round of the East Regional on Thursday.

“You know, it doesn’t get any better,” Smith said Wednesday. “The excitement around it, and your juices get flowing, your energy level is up.

“I think this … sends a message to our players and to our team that we’re building. We’re moving in the right direction, that they can see the progress we’re making in the program.”

Anything is better than where Minnesota (22-10) was just two seasons ago, when they won nine games and had a midseason coaching change. Smith arrived a year later after a 10-year run at Kentucky that included a national championship in his first season, guiding the Gophers to 20 wins and an NIT berth.

“The first thing that he changed was the mindset and attitude of the team,” forward Jamal Abu-Shamala said. “Really, he wanted us to have a championship attitude, and just have faith and believe in each other that we can achieve big goals.”

Inexperience isn’t a problem for Texas (22-11), the region’s No. 7 seed. The Longhorns have been to the tournament for 11 straight years, including runs to the regional finals in both 2006 and 2008.

“I think that’s what we have going for us,” senior A.J. Abrams said. “We’re bringing back a lot of guys that have a lot of tournament experience. I don’t think we have that ’Wow’ factor. We’re just taking it as one game. We have Minnesota ahead of us, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

The game will be a homecoming for both Smith and Texas coach Rick Barnes. Smith played in college at nearby High Point, while Barnes is a native of Hickory - roughly 100 miles west of Greensboro - and attended Lenoir-Rhyne College.

They have something else in common, too: their seasons took a downward trajectory late in the season.

Despite losing point guard D.J. Augustin early to the NBA draft, Texas entered the year ranked in the top 10 behind Abrams. But after a 15-4 start, the Longhorns suffered a three-game losing streak in what was just the beginning of a second-half fade. Texas went 7-7 to close the regular season, including a 76-70 loss to Baylor in the Big 12 tournament that ended a 24-game winning streak in the series.

“Obviously D.J. was a guy that when things weren’t working could make something out of nothing,” Barnes said. “At times, with people backing off certain players (defensively) and players having to learn to handle that individually, we had to learn to handle that as a team. It can be frustrating and we’ve seen that.

“We’ve seen guys have a tough time shooting the ball and a year ago they shot it well. As a coaching staff and a team, you’re hoping maybe this is the time we’re going to do it.”

Aggies, BYU face off again

PHILADELPHIA - Same seed. Same opponent. This NCAA tournament matchup has a familiar feel.

BYU and Texas A&M meet again Thursday in the first round of the West Regional. It’s a rematch from last year when the Aggies won 67-62.

The eighth-seeded Cougars (25-7) - they’ve been in this spot three straight seasons - and ninth-seeded Aggies (23-9) were surprised they drew each other when the brackets were announced. But it made preparation a little easier. All they had to do was pop in the tape from their previous meeting to get a refresher.

“We were all like, ’Again!’” Aggies guard Derrick Roland said Wednesday. “It’s no surprises. We know what to expect. They’re a good team. We’ll be ready.”

Texas A&M’s five starters all played double-digit minutes against the Cougars last year while four of BYU’s starters saw significant action. Both coaching staffs probably spent more time breaking down film from that game than any this season. If they expose just one tendency or weakness, that can give them an edge.

“One of the things that we’ve done as a staff is just try to find the things that were good, that we did really well in that game, that we can kind of emphasize,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “We have a pretty good idea of how physical they are and how they like to play.”

The Cougars know one player they have to defend a little better this time around is Josh Carter. A senior forward who averages 14.1 points per game, Carter scored 26 against BYU last time.

“I figure they’ll stay closer with me,” Carter said. “Last year, they were leaving me a little bit more. I don’t expect them to do that.”

Carter leads a balanced offense that includes Donald Sloan (11.7), Bryan Davis (10.4) and Chinemelu Elonu (10.1). Texas A&M has excellent shooters - Carter, Sloan and B.J. Holmes are long-range threats - and is strong inside. The Aggies outrebounded their opponent in 11 of their last 12 games, holding an average margin of 8.3 in that span.

“One of the keys is definitely going to be Josh Carter,” Cougars guard Lee Cummard said. “We’re going to have to do a good job containing him as a team. Taking care of the basketball and rebounding is another key. They’re physical. Sometimes they send three, four guys to the offensive glass. If we can control that, it will really help a lot.”

BYU is an outstanding perimeter-shooting team led by a trio of scorers. Cummard (16.8), Jimmer Fredette (16.2) and Jonathan Tavernari (15.9) combined to shoot 38.2 percent (168-of-440) from 3-point range. Jackson Emery also can shoot well, knocking down 37.3 percent from beyond the arc.

“To me, it’s all about transition defense and finding shooters in transition,” Aggies coach Mark Turgeon said. “If you can slow that down a little bit, you have a chance. If you don’t do that, you have no chance against them. It’s a tough matchup. They’re hard to guard. Those three scorers will make tough shots, closely guarded shots. You just have to accept that, go the other way, do the best you can. It’s a challenge for us.”

Both schools have deep football traditions, but they haven’t matched that success on the hardwood. Still, their basketball programs have enjoyed revivals this decade.

BYU has four consecutive 20-win seasons under Rose after going 9-21 in 2004-05. The Cougars are 11-26 in the NCAA tournament with six straight losses in the opening round. They haven’t won a tournament game since 1993, but they’ve come close lately. BYU has lost four in a row by five points or less.

The Cougars got an at-large bid after losing to San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament semifinals. They’ve won the regular-season conference title the last three years.

“I hope it’s not adding any pressure because it’s really an accomplishment to make the field,” Rose said of the school’s losing streak in the tourney. “That’s a sense of accomplishment that I think needs to kind of make your team feel a little bit relaxed. I know for some of the returning players there’s a real will to win and they want to win this game.”

The Aggies are five years removed from a 7-21 record. They’re making their fourth straight NCAA tourney appearance, the longest streak in school history. A&M has advanced to the second round three straight years, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2007.

A month ago, it seemed the Aggies might not even get this far. They’d lost three consecutive games and were 3-7 in the Big 12 conference. But A&M won six in a row to end the regular season, before losing to Texas Tech in the conference tournament.

“I think our intensity level went to a whole other level,” Sloan said. “You got guys around that just don’t give up. Everybody seemed to be more in tune.”